Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Meaghan and James made their Canadian Reformed Church winter wedding extra personal by including family members in all of the important parts of the day. James’ older brother performed their ceremony, which made it more special but also meant a few hilarious jabs at James were included. Their twin nephews did an amazing job as ring bearers, and siblings were included in their wedding party so they could spend all day together. Meaghan’s little sister may be one of the youngest maid of honours we’ve had, and she did an amazing job helping her sister!

Both of them were a little nervous excited in the morning, but that all melted away once they saw each other at the church. James absolutely lit up once Meaghan and her father came through the doors. He looked like he was fighting back exclaiming, “Wow!” out loud. :)

After weeks of little to no snow, their wedding day ended up being one of those rare days the snow came down! Meaghan and James were able to get the winter wedding they had hoped for (who would have thought February would be so warm?). Luckily the sun was also out and the bridesmaids all had shawls. We appreciate everyone freezing to get such great photos in the river bottom :)

Congratulations, Meaghan and James!

When Anita called me to book her Coaldale backyard family photos, she was in a hurry. One of her sons was ready to travel back to Germany the moment flights reopened and one son had just graduated high school but missed out on the big ceremony. To keep her session easy for the boys to prepare for and make it more personal, I visited them in their beautiful backyard.

We spent the first half of the session focusing on the family, and the second half was dedicated to Steve’s grad photos. Luckily he had been able to borrow a cap and gown from his school, but I think the best photos were of him rocking his suit. You could tell he felt extra confident in it. It definitely “suited” him (sorry I will see myself out).

During a rare weekend off last summer, I had the opportunity to second shoot for Melanie at Photo Expressions Photography for Quintina and Mike’s wedding. Quintina and Mike had a Readymade outdoor wedding ceremony followed by portraits around the Coaldale area. They were such a happy couple with just as happy friends and spent the whole day smiling and laughing! Even better, they brought their puppy along for the whole day.

Congratulations, Quintina and Mike!

(more…)

Due to some travel delays amongst their children, George and Sharon hadn’t been able to get a proper family photo at their daughter’s wedding last autumn. They made up for it this summer with Coaldale family farm photos at their beautiful home. Most of the kids don’t like having their photo taken, but I think they did a pretty good job getting through it to make their mom happy :)

(more…)

Kelti and Matthew held their Gem of the West wedding ceremony on the cusp of autumn with the most important people in their lives in attendance. Kelti is heavily involved in the community so choosing a venue with so much historic value was such a perfect fit.

Kelti, Matthew, and all of their wedding party got ready at the Charles Street Suites, which is conveniently decorated in their wedding colours! They kept to separate floors so that they could share a first look on the staircase before heading out for photos.

Kelti and Matthew both give off so much positive energy and had us laughing all day. It was clear to see why they are so amazing together while watching them interact; they bounce that energy off each other nonstop and hardly ever quit smiling. They, their siblings, and their wedding party were constantly hilarious and never took anything too seriously – even when tackle chases gave way to ripped pants early in the day.

Congratulations, Kelti and Matthew!

(more…)

Adam and Dianne love the landscape around where they grew up and incorporated it into their Readymade Community Centre summer wedding. All of the rustic walls and buildings around Dianne’s family farm made for great photo backdrops, and her parents house with grand staircase was the perfect spot to have their first look.

Just around the corner from the farm are Readymade and Stafford Park so we didn’t have to go far (we only had to carefully photograph around the people tubing at the lake!). Just after photos, they had their ceremony at the Canadian Reformed Church in Coaldale.

Dianne looked so elegant in her lace wedding dress with a low back and her beautiful auburn hair let down. Adam could not stop grinning at her! He continued stealing glances at her through the whole ceremony even though they had spent the last three hours lovingly looking at each other for photos. In their reception program, they described Adam as “very tall” and Dianne as “not so tall” – so during portraits we made Adam be the one to bridge the height distance to kiss his gorgeous bride ;)

Congratulations, Dianne and Adam!

(more…)